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Category Archives: valentine’s day

during her trip a few weeks ago, my mom brought eloise a teddy bear that was mine when I was little. this was a special valentine’s day bear that an old neighbor/friend made me, so it meant a lot to see him again! eloise happened to be wearing a valentine’s day –esque outfit so I thought a quick photoshoot would be fun! {these were taken with my iPhone so not the best quality… but still adorable!}

{we attended a fun celebration for both a birthday & an MBA completion for our friend sara – congratulations!}

{hit pike place market early saturday morning to pick up last minute party goodies – fresh flowers & french macarons! the tulips are so gorgeous & I have filled my house with them.}

{the dessert table set-up for my birthday bash.}

{kicking my feet up after a long & fun night of entertaining. loving this fantastic anthro skirt {no longer available}!}

{leftover cupcakes & donuts for breakfast? sure! don’t worry, we also had some blueberry muffins…}

{aaron showing our little friend jaz how to snap a straw.}

{car accident + rainy weather = major traffic issues.}

{meet fred, my grandmother’s new roommate!}

we had the most amazing weekend celebrating february birthdays with our friends & family. seriously, it was the best! sleeping in, eating macarons, & catching up with friends is the very best way to spend the weekend. now I am in disbelief that we are in the last week of march already – where did february go?

my previous friday I’m in love posts I have mostly been round-ups of things I am loving for that week {see here, here, here, & here}. this week though, I thought it would be fun to share this year’s family valentine.

for those of you not yet in the know {which is likely a lot since we’ve kept mum recently} we would like to share the LOVE & are absolutely thrilled to announce that our family is growing this year!

if that doesn’t make your valentine’s day happy, I don’t know what will!

{I would love to give a huge shout-out to jihan & geronimo balloons for making & sending over this gorgeous, fun, & festive balloon!}

be sure to check out what kendra is sharing! what are you loving this week?

boeing not only wrapped its new freighter planes with seahawks graphics, its newest jumbo jet also took its first flight in the shape of a “12.” if that’s not support, I don’t know what is. good luck seattle! go 12th man!

I am loving all of the valentine’s décor & diy ideas that are floating around the interwebs {for obvious reasons}. I am particularly enamored with this cupcake topper that was featured over on the Oh Happy Day blog.

I am pretty certain I have talked about my love of this product before, but every time I use it, I fall in love again. when I do feel fancy & go get a mani/pedi, I always go to julep which is my all-time favorite nail salon {bonus that it is 5 minutes away from our house!}. months ago the gals started using this freedom top coat after two or three coats of color. once it is on, you sit 10 or 15 minutes with your nails under a light {just any regular light} & like magic, the coat finishes almost like a gel polish! seriously. it isn’t perfect, but it does mean you can put on your jacket & pay for your mani without smudging your nails. I use it at home now when I am feeling not quite as fancy {& have to paint my own}. I just put on one top coat over the color & sit at the dining room table under the light for 15 minutes. you an even read a magazine as long as you keep your fingers facing the light. then, as long as you don’t really rub your nails, you are free to get along with your day. if that’s not freedom, I don’t know what is!

i’ve said it before, & i’ll say it again!, yearly recaps are always my favorite kinds of blog posts. its a small way to sum up your year & to see how much the last 365 days have brought. as i look forward to the New Year, i am humbled & grateful by all of the wondrous events of 2013. here’s the rundown of ours:

august: we celebrated our three year wedding anniversary. the blog got a Liebster Award Nomination. I diy-ed the tiniest baby hats for our friends’ new baby. we road-tripped to hood river, oregon to celebrate my cousin’s wedding.

reflecting back on this year, i am reminded how blessed we are & also how different this year has been than the year previous. it has been such a wonderful year & ringing in a new one is a bit bittersweet.

how was your 2013 – was it a year to remember, or are you itching to start 2014 already?

{wouldn’t it be amazing to get a giant heart balloon from geronimo balloons from your valentine? i think i would keep it forever.}

i hope everyone has an amazing & love-filled day celebrating! people ask me a lot whether i like having my birthday on valentine’s day & the answer is a resounding yes! i do feel bad for my husband because growing up my birthday & valentine’s day were two very separate holidays, both celebrated {thanks mom & dad!}, but i really do love it. since i do share a birthday with a holiday, i love that it is a day that is filled with joy & compassion for those around you. where gestures of love – big & small – are made in return for a few x’s & o’s.

whether you have an official valentine or not i hope that you find a lot of love today!

to wrap up my valentine’s day diy {just two days away, eek!}, i have two small projects to share.

first up is a card which is loosely based off of a card i have seen before in stores.

supplies:

short matchstick

cardstock or blank card

thin wire

marker or pen – i love the thin sharpies

construction paper/paper/envelope

washi tape – optional

i cut out a folding card from plain white cardstock. i put the fold on the top edge, but you could put it on the side edge too. then i laid down the matchstick where i wanted it on the card – a bit off-centered – & punched two tiny holes on both sides of the matchstick. then i thread a short piece of wire thru the holes, looping around the matchstick, & putting the ends thru the back of the card. i twisted the wire to secure the matchstick.

then i wrote out “sparks fly” on the outside of the card, & “when we’re together” in the inside. simple as that.

the last project i have to share is a fun valentine’s gift for aaron – a date night jar. we have been talking about the fact that two-and-a-half years into marriage that we don’t go on dates really anymore. at least not like we used to. so, i thought it would be fun to compile some ideas so that when we find ourselves looking for something fun to do, we could skip past the brainstorming & move right to the date!

there are lots of “date night jars” on pinterest so definitely search there if you want some more versions of this idea.

supplies:

short glass jar – i used a mason jar

fat popsicle sticks

acrylic paint – i used festive red & pink

sharpie or marker

felt

twine or string

i started out by brainstorming & writing out all of my date ideas. i tried to make half of them free dates & half of them pay dates. i was with some girlfriends during this process which helped the idea-flowing tremendously, but i tried to think of all of those things that we always say we want to do or only do when out-of-town guests are visiting. then i painted the ends of the sticks {both sides} – red signifying the pay dates & pink the free ones.

then i put all of the sticks in the jar, painted side up. i traced a heart out of felt & tied it onto the jar with some string.

it’s not too late to whip up a fun something for your valentine! do you craft or buy for valentine’s day?